Apparatus



Fay. 2-,

"w. L. BURTON.

Electro Heating Apparatus.

Patented March 23, 1869.

Quinn W. LEIGH BURTON, OF

l RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.-

Letters Patent No. 88,006, dated llIarch 23, 1869; antedated .March 12, 1869.

INEPRGVEMENT IN ELECTED-HEATING APPARATUS.

The Schedule refined to in these Letters Patent and making part of the name To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, W.'LErcH BURTON, of Richmond, in the county of Henrico, and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Evolving Heat from Electricity; and I do hereby declare that the following is a sufiiciently full, clear, and exact description of mysaid invention, to enable one skilled in the art to which it appertains, to carry it into effect, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which exhibit it in one of its applications, namely, for heating railway-carriages, by means of heated metallic plates-placed under the feet of passengers.

My invention is based upon the well-known fact that electricity, in passing through a conductor of insufiicient capacity, (such, for instance, as a wire of very ,small diameter,) evolves, or develops heat.

It is also well known that a wire of any great length, and ot'sufiicien tly small size to evolve considerable heat, will not conduct a strong current of electricity without 'difliculty and loss, and that as the wire becomes heated, its non-conductivity is increased, and that, in conse quence, the heat becomes so great that the wire will be fused.

The object of my invention is to obviate this-difliculty, by enabling a strong current of electricity to pass through a heat-evolving apparatus of any length; and to this end, My invention consists in providing an electrical conducting-coil, or chain, with intervals of small conducting-power, in traversing which the electricity will be caused to evolve heat; and further, in interposing between said obstructing-intervals, free conductors of much larger size, which constitute reservoirs of electricity, and radiators of heat, and will efiectually' on viate the difiic-ulty experienced in a continuous length of conductor of insuflicieut capacity. I

In the drawings- Figure l is a plan of a device, or apparatus, by wnieh my invention may be applied for heating railway-earriages, by means of heated metallic plates placed under the feet of passengers, portions of the plate being omitted, in order to expose the interior.

Figure 2 is a plan, on a larger scale, of a portion of my conducting and heat-evolving coil, or chain.

Figure 3 represents a vertical transverse section of the apparatus.

In this application of my in\-'ention,'A, fig. 1, may represent a bed, or case, of any suitable non-conduct ing material. It is divided intoparallel longitudinal grooves, of a suiiicient size and depth to contain the. coil, or chain, and close enough together to allow of a compact arrangement of it.

B B represents the space, or division between the coil, and

C, the coil, restingin the bed, or groove.

F G represent wires, to be connected with the poles of an electrical machine, battery, or generator, furnishing, or producing a current of electricity best suited for the purpose of evolving heat; and

H is a metallic plate, covering the coil 0 D, without contact therewith. 4

If the wires F G be placed inIconnection with any suitable electrical apparatus, the current of electricity, in passing the small-intervals D,-fig. 2, will evolve heat, but, by reason of the shortness of these, and the reservoirs provided bythe interposed metal 0, I am enabled to extend the coil, or chain to any length, in order that a large and compact arrangement may be obtained, to afford the required accumulation of heat. As soon as the obstructions D become heated, the heat is rapidly communicated to the reservoirs and radiators C, and from these to the metallic plate H.

I have used copper as a suitable substahce for the reservoirs and radiators, on account of its conductivity for heat and electricity, and platinum for the obstructingintervals, on account of its comparatively low conductivity, and of its being able to withstand a high tern perature without melting or oxidation. But I do not restrict myself to these, or any specific materials in the construction of my chain, or coil, nor do I restrict myself to any of the details of construction. I reserve the right, in carrying out my invention, to use a continuous obstructing-medium, and attach reservoirs, or radiators of any shape or size to it; or to use short pieces of the obstructing material, and connect them with the reservoirs in any manner whatever; or to use the same metal,.and reduce the size of it at intenvals, -for the purpose of producing obstructing-media, either by pressure, hammering, or casting, or in any other manner whatever.

It is intended to use the invention for producing heat in all cases where it can be applied to advantage, and

to use the kind of electricity and electrical apparatusthat may be found best adapted for the purpose.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let- ,ters Patent: Evolving and accumulating heat from electricity, by means of a chain, or coil, made up of an alternate succession of reservoirs'and obstructions, assembled and arranged in a compact space within a suitable casing, substantially as set forth.

Witnesses:

W. LEIGH BURTON. WM. Oounnmo,

E. W. SKELTON. 

